20 Main Street

2008

This fine house was built in 1874 at the cost of about $4,000 for Mr. William Brodie. Mr. Brodie was a newspaper reporter and manager of Wadsworth Farms. The late Miss Margaret Coddington, a niece of Mr. Brodie, worked during her occupancy to repair deterioration that occurred in the years the house was vacant after Mr. Brodie's death. Today it is in its original good order.

A fine example of Italianate Victorian architecture, the house boasts a mansard roof, gable roof and a tower with finial. There are many notable features inside. The kitchen in the basement has a dumb-waiter in its original condition, which runs to the dining room. There is a floating staircase in the front hall and the mantles and furniture are in excellent condition and largely unchanged.

The gas fixtures and chandeliers have been electrified, but otherwise are in their original condition. Mr. Brodie intended this to be a private house when ground was broken on April 14, 1874, and it remained as such for over a century. Operated for a few years as a Bed and Breakfast named “Someplace Else,” it is now a private home once again.